Bound By Blood
by KelliLeanne
Summary: After failing to ensnare Luke Skywalker and losing his apprentice, Darth Sidious is determined that another Skywalker will be at his side.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Bound By Blood Author: KelliLeanne  
Timeframe: Post ROTJ  
Characters: Leia, Darth Sidious, Han, Chewbacca, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Yoda  
Genre: Drama  
Disclaimer: I own nothing, Lucas owns everything; I'm just playing with his creations. I promise I'll put them back where they belong when I'm finished.  
Summary: After failing to ensnare Luke Skywalker and losing his apprentice, Darth Sidious is determined that another Skywalker will be at his side.

_**Chapter 1:**_

The young Skywalker was certainly a disappointment. Here he had wasted all this time and effort into preparing the boy to take his father's place at his side, but the child was too much like his mother. _She was idealistic until the bitter end, I'm sure; and now Amidala's little brat is proving to be even more of a fool._

"You have failed, Your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

_If you only knew, boy. _The Sith sneered, he hated it when a carefully laid plan of his fell apart. "So be it, Jedi." Calling on the awesome power that had been at his command for decades, Sidious unleashed a torrent of Force energy directly into the boy.

Of all the ways to destroy life, this method was, by far, the Sith master's favorite. He always loved watching them squirm around on the floor, completely helpless, as their life was slowly leeched from their bodies. Their fear and pain were a powerful fuel that fed the very power that was killing them..

"If you will not be turned, then you will be destroyed."

Sidious laughed as the boy, in a desperate attempt the save his pathetic life, tried to use the Force to deflect the energy; but he was nowhere near as powerful as he needed to be in order to accomplish the task. The master was so intoxicated by feeling the tiny Jedi's pain and fear that he barely noticed as his injured apprentice moved to stand beside him.

"Young fool...only now, at the end, do you understand." All the fight in this once proud warrior was gone. All his Jedi ideals were lost. Like the Order that produced them, those ideals failed him when it really counted. Sidious enjoyed watching, not only the boy's physical death, but the destruction of all he believed in. The killing of a broken man was always much more satisfying.

As wave after wave of power emptied into the boy, Sidious had to laugh at the Jedi's attempts to keep his discipline. His skills were pathetic and useless, much like the Jedi themselves. "Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side. You have paid the price for your lack of vision."

Sidious knew that the Jedi was wondering when the power would be exhausted and his torment would end. _Your own pain is feeding my power; this will go on as long as you do._

With his last ounce of strength, the young Skywalker reached out to his last hope. "Father, please. Help me."

Suddenly, the Sith felt a massive shift in the Force. In just a few seconds, something had changed drastically. Sidious had spent his entire life listening to the Force and molding it to his advantage; he knew the signs of something significant happening. _So Vader is thinking about betraying me. Well, I can't have that, now can I?_

With power that neither his apprentice or the boy knew that he had, Sidious quickly shifted his attack and engulfed both of his enemies in Force energy. "So, Lord Vader, you want to save your pathetic son."

As father and son were both writhing in pain, Sidious' anger at the betrayal allowed the attack to increase. _All of my plans are ruined!_ The Force then reminded him of the new information that he had learned about the boy's sister. _Where I failed with one Skywalker, I will succeed with the other._

Vader's suit was destroyed, all of the mechanisms that had kept him alive for so many years had failed. The electronics that allowed his apprentice to move were completely useless. As Vader lay dying, he did not even have the use of his limbs.

The Emperor ceased his attack and regarded his former apprentice. Something had changed; inside the suit was not the angry, hate filled man that the Sith had put in it so many years ago. There was a brightness to his rapidly diminishing Force presence that Sidious had not felt in him since before the Clone War. "Embracing the light before death; how cowardly of you."

Vader did not respond, he could not even if he wanted to. The machinery that allowed him to be able to speak with the respirator was damaged beyond repair. There would be no final words, no deathbed confessions, and no displays of remorse for choosing the dark side. "As you tumble toward oblivion, just remember this...Anakin. I will not lose another one of your children. Your daughter will be bound to me. She will be mine--body, mind, and soul, as you once was."

Sidious thought that he heard a raspy "no" coming from where his former apprentice lay dying, but he paid it no mind. He turned to where the other Skywalker was laying. Unlike his father, the boy was not quiet. He was moaning in pain while in a fetal position; he wanted to die, that much the Sith was sure of. "I will give you the death you seek, young Skywalker. I just need to know one thing. Who is your sister?"

The Emperor did not expect the boy to answer, but in his weakened state the Jedi had no mental shields left. With the Force, Sidious drove into the dying boy's mind to find the answer. He did not have to look very hard. Immediately after the question was asked, the boy's mind was filled with an image of Leia Organa. _Very interesting, but I suppose it makes sense. She always annoyed me like her mother._ "Thank you Luke, your weakness has led me to my next apprentice."

The boy cried out in both physical pain and emotional anguish. Addressing both father and son, Sidious grinned, "As much as I would love to stay here and chat with you both, I'm afraid that I must go. It seems the rebels are about to blow up this station. It's a setback, but I can always build another one. This victory of theirs will not last." With one last burst of awesome power, the Emperor unleashed a killing amount of energy. He felt a major tremor in the Force as they passed; the shockwave almost knocked him over.

After recovering, Sidious moved quickly to the communicator on his throne and ordered his guard to requisition a shuttle for them to leave. He then ordered most of the remaining Imperial ships to retreat while a few were ordered to stay to cover his escape after the Death Star inevitably explodes. _They will think that they won a great victory today, but I will snatch that victory right from their hands. I have tolerated this rebellion long enough; with my new apprentice at my side, they will collapse._

* * *

Something horrible had happened, something that was not supposed to happen. Leia thought that she heard screaming, but she then realized that it was coming from her own mind. She felt sick as pain hit her in waves. She bent down and put her head in her hands in an effort to block out these overwhelming feelings--feelings that she had no idea of the source. 

"What's wrong? Leia, answer me!"

The sound of Han's frantic pleadings barely made it through the fog that was being caused by whatever was happening to her. She wanted to scream, to cry, to beg whatever was causing this to make it stop; but she somehow knew it would be no use.

Then, as quickly as it began, it suddenly stopped. What replaced the pain was the horrible realization that Luke was dead. She also knew that Vader was dead as well; although, she did not want to think about the reason why she would be aware of his passing. She had not had long to process the fact that she was Luke's sister, and Vader's daughter. "Luke."

"Luke? What's wrong with him? Leia, you're beginning to worry me here. Tell me what's going on."

Before Leia answered, she looked up to see the death star that orbited the sanctuary moon of Endor, explode.

Han looked over to Leia, "I'm sure Luke wasn't on that thing when it exploded."

Tears began to stream down the princess' face, "He was."

Instead of questioning how she would know that, Han embraced her to try and give what comfort he could. "I know you loved him."

Leia shook with sobs, "My brother is gone."

"Brother?" Mercifully, Han did not ask her anything more; he just held her as she wept.

The princess knew she did not have the time for this; despite her anguish she had to act quickly. She broke from her lover's embrace, "The Emperor isn't dead."

"He was on that thing, he has to be dead."

Leia shook her head, "Trust me on this, Han, the Emperor isn't dead. We need to leave this place."

"What about Vader?"

"He's gone."

"Leia, if Luke was your brother, does that make Vader..." Han trailed off, not sure how to finish the question.

The princess shut her eyes, as if to block out the wave of emotion coming toward her. "Yes." No more explanation was necessary.

Han nodded, "What do you want me to do?"

"I must contact the Alliance, we need to retreat quickly. Contact Lando and Chewie, have them get all remaining fighters back here as soon as possible to help with the evacuation. We don't have much time."

* * *

Anakin knew he was dead, that much he was certain. Everything else, he was not so sure about. His surroundings seemed surreal, he could see vague outlines of shapes on the distance, but he could not make out what they were. The place seemed unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. He could not get the idea out of his head that he should somehow recognize where he was. 

He looked down at his hands, they were flesh. The rest of his body was also not covered in the armor that had imprisoned him for so long. _I'm free._

The last thing he remembered was the pain coming from the energy the Emperor drove into him. He remembered Sidious' mocking words as he destroyed him and his son. _My son! Luke, I'm sorry I couldn't save you._ In a split second decision, everything had changed. As he watched his master kill his son, Anakin knew that he had to do something and that he could not allow what was taking place. But he was too slow, and did not act as quickly as he should have and Luke paid the price for it. _Leia will pay as well._

Before his death, the former Sith did not have much time to process the fact that Padmé had twins before she died; he had a daughter. Looking back, he did not understand how he could not see the resemblance between his dead wife and the princess. They had the same fiery spirit and the same hatred of tyranny.

_She also has a Force presence. _That was something that he had known about Leia from the time he had first met her. Even as an untrained child, she had a strong presence within the Force--so much that he had even then entertained the idea of taking her on as his apprentice when she came of age. _She got her connection to the Force from me, and that will damn her to Sidious' service._

"Anakin"

He turned around to see his former master standing behind him. "Obi-Wan. What is this place?"

"It is the netherworld of the Force, at least that is my theory." His former master smiled, something that Anakin never thought he would ever see again from him.

"Why am I here?"

"Some of us remain here."

"Us? There are more of you?"

Obi-Wan smiled again; and suddenly the figure of Yoda appeared, along with someone Anakin had not seen since he was a child. "Qui-Gon?"

The older man reached out to grab Anakin's hand, and he was surprised to find that it felt like regular flesh. Somehow, he thought that they would pass through each other like ghosts. "I'm glad you're here Anakin, we have much to do."

The former Sith had not imagined death to be this way. While the Jedi Order, or the Sith, did not subscribe to the idea of a heaven and hell, like some cultures, Anakin still never thought he would spend his afterlife with other Jedi--especially his former masters. "Why isn't Luke here?"

Yoda shook his head, "Strong, he was in the Force, but strong enough he was not to transcend. One with the Force, your son is."

A wave of despair came over Anakin as he accepted what he already knew to be true. "I'm so sorry."

"He did not fall to the dark side; he was strong enough to resist it's pull."

The former Sith knew the truth in Obi-Wan's words, there were things worse than death. "I tried to turn him."

"We know, Anakin, but you didn't. Leia, on the other hand, is another matter." Qui-Gon's voice was grave.

"Knows about her, Sidious does."

Anakin thought about the girl that he had just learned to be his daughter. A desire to protect her swelled up within him, the feeling was similar to what he had felt when he believed Padmé's life was in danger. After so long without these kinds of emotions, Anakin felt overwhelmed. "What can I do?"

Qui-Gon shared a relieved look with his fellow Jedi Masters. "We must find a way to contact her. If we do not, she will be alone against the darkness and will stand little chance to fight against it."

"Training, she has none. Difficult, this will be."

"If we do not, all will be lost." Obi-Wan's words were a sobering reminder that the galaxy would have little chance if Leia succumbed to the dark side.

Maybe it was a holdover from his days as a Sith, but Anakin was not really thinking about the fate of the galaxy. He knew it was something that he should have been concerned with and that it was selfish of him to think of his own before the galaxy; but if he was truly honest with himself, he would admit that the fate of the galaxy was not his main concern. He was thinking about the young woman with Padmé's face and his stubbornness. _I will save Leia, she will not fall._ "Where do we begin?"

* * *

All over the galaxy, rumors began to grow--rumors that their hated Emperor was dead. At first they were small; few people were willing to put their hope in such an elusive dream. They had learned throughout the years of the Emperor's reign that hope something very dangerous to hold onto. Many of them admired the rebels for their courage in the face of tyranny, but most did not actually believe that they would be successful. 

However, as the rumors grew of the death of Emperor Palpatine, hope began to grow as well. Beings all over the galaxy watched their HoloNet viewers waiting for the official announcement; most of them with a smile on their faces as they looked at one another. _"Is it finally over? Is Palpatine dead?"_

Some of the younger beings even began to rally on the streets of their home-worlds. They cheered as statues of their hated dictator were torn down. The stormtroopers were strangely absent; none of them appeared to disburse the rallies.

The Emperor-controlled media were scrambling. None of them were confirming the rumors, but they were also not denying them.

Even on Imperial Center, there were rallies in support of the rebels. The statue of the Emperor that had stood for many years in the governmental complex was torn down by thousands of jubilant youths.

The older beings tried to warn the younger ones that it was too early to celebrate. The Emperor had not been confirmed dead, and some would not dare to hope until they saw a body. However, their warnings fell on increasingly deaf ears.

All over the galaxy joy was growing, shouts of "We're free!" could be heard in millions of languages all over the Empire. For hours, there was hope for a future free of tyranny.

However, as quickly as it began, it all ended. The first thing that was noticed was Imperial ships flying over some of the rallies. Some participants wisely decided that it was time to go home, but most stayed. The ships did not do anything but hover and wait.

There was no warning given to the media of an official announcement. It was immediately patched through to all channels, all over the galaxy. A cry was heard throughout the Empire when the face of the Emperor appeared on all public information screens and HoloNet viewers.

The smile that he had on his face chilled everyone to the bone. "I am here to announce that, despite the rumors, I am very much alive. There was an attempt on my life and the destruction of Imperial military assets. This rebellion will no longer be tolerated and all those who support them will be destroyed."

All at once, at the pre-arranged signal, the ships that had been hovering quietly over the rallies opened fire.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2:**_

The Rebel Alliance was in chaos. What started out as a celebration with the natives of Endor, quickly turned into a very unorganized evacuation. The commanders tried to keep control, but were finding it harder and harder to do so ever since the reports of the Emperor's simultaneous attacks. What should have been their finest moment of victory quickly became a nightmare.

After the attacks, the Alliance agreed with Princess Leia that they had to quickly move the fleet out of the Endor system. They knew that the Emperor's revenge would be swift and devastating, and the attacks on the demonstrators were only the beginning. It was going to get much worse.

The loss of Luke Skywalker was a major blow to the morale of the entire Alliance, from the top down. Everyone felt the young Jedi's loss greatly; the more superstitious among them believed it to be a bad omen.

Han Solo had been pulling double duty since the evacuation. He had been assisting with the monumental task of getting all personnel and equipment ready to move and he had also taken it upon himself to take care of Princess Leia. It was becoming the most frustrating job he had ever had; she was the most stubborn woman he had ever met. Han sometimes wondered why he even bothered, but every time he saw her he knew that he would do anything for her.

"How long has it been since you've slept?"

Leia did not bother to look up at Han Solo as he strode into the empty mess hall that she had been using as an office for the last few hours. "What do you want?"

Without being invited, Han sat down across from the princess. "I want to know how long it's been since you've slept." He asked again.

She looked up sharply in annoyance; this was not the first time that they had this conversation since the evacuation. "Why do you care?"

Han sighed, "You shouldn't have to ask that question."

Leia threw down the datapad, "If you care for me, you should leave me alone."

"You've hardly slept since Endor!" The Corellian's frustration was growing. He could not understand why she was being this stubborn. "You can't go on like this."

"I case you haven't realized, we are in the middle of an emergency."

"I haven't forgotten." Realizing that matching her frustration with his own was not going to help the situation, he tried a different tactic. Han took Leia's hands in his own. "The fleet is away from Endor; it will be hours before we get to the rendezvous point. You have time to rest before then."

Leia closed her eyes; Han could tell that she was trying to not break down. "I'm asking you again, leave me alone."

Han smiled, "I'm afraid I can't do that Sweetheart; I'm kind of invested in your well-being." Leia did not respond. Han knew the princess enough to know that he had finally cracked the hard emotional shell that she had put up after Endor. "Leia, I didn't have the chance earlier to tell you because of all that is going on; but I wanted to say I'm sorry about Luke."

Leia sighed and shook her head, "Please, if I hear one more expression of sympathy, I think I'm going to go insane."

"He was my friend too."

A flash of guilt went across the princess' face. "I know, I'm sorry I snapped at you. I just wish that I knew what really happened to my brother."

Han winced inwardly at the reminder. He was not upset that Luke was her brother, but he certainly was not thrilled that Leia being Luke's sister made his princess the daughter of Darth Vader. Over the last few hours he had tried to come to terms with that fact, but it was really hard to do so. He could not imagine what she was going through.

"And now, we're running away from what was to be our greatest victory."

He shook his head, "We're regrouping, that's all. The Emperor didn't defeat us."

"Oh Han, I know you're not that naïve. We lost over half of our fleet and much of our manpower." Leia closed her eyes momentarily to ward off the tears that were threatening to fall. "It was a foolish assault; we should have seen that it was a trap."

"It wasn't foolish Leia; it was the best intelligence we had."

The princess sighed as a few tears fell, "We should have seen that it was too good to be true...I should have seen it."

Han held onto her hands tighter and leaned in closer, "Listen to me, I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, but don't you start blaming yourself for this."

Leia angrily wrenched herself from Han's grasp, "I was the one who pushed for this."

"As I recall, Princess, it was not only your decision. The entire Rebel leadership was in complete agreement."

"I should have known better."

Han shook his head, "Leia, you're not all-knowing."

The princess laughed; the bitterness evident in it disturbed Han very much. "You would think that I should be, considering who I'm related to." She slammed her hand down on the table, "I mean, if I'm supposed to be Darth Vader's daughter, you would think that I would have inherited some of his abilities. Luke said that I had the same power as he did; he was so wrong."

The Corellian was speechless; he had no idea what to say to her. He wanted to help her, but did not know how to do it. Before he could open his mouth to say something, Leia angrily stood up from the table. "I have to go, there's too much to do for me to sit here."

As Leia was walking out the door, Han called out to her, "Please don't shut me out; let me help you."

The princess shook her head, "There's nothing you can do."

* * *

Within the Force, time was a difficult thing to grasp. Obi-Wan was not certain how long he had been dead, sometimes it felt like just minutes and sometimes it felt like centuries. The former Jedi knew that keeping the identity he had in life was only a temporary thing; soon he would completely join the ocean of energy within the Force. 

He was not sure how he felt about that. On one hand he was relieved that he would no longer have to carry the weight of his many failures and regrets; but on another hand, he had to admit that he was not thrilled about losing his identity within the Force. _Let go you must, what you fear to lose._ Master Yoda's long-ago teaching still applied. A Jedi had no possessions and no attachments, and that included his very identity.

Obi-Wan did not know how much longer he had before who he was now would cease and he would be fully transformed into the Force. There was much for him to do before then, he had one more Skywalker to help save.

Obi-Wan thought about the last living Skywalker and her grave danger. Through the Force, Yoda had watched Leia growing up like he had Luke. He told Obi-Wan that the girl was very much different than her brother. Luke favored Anakin physically, but inherited his mother's temperament. It was the opposite with Leia; she looked more like Padmé, but favored her father in terms of how she reacted to situations.

That was the main reason that Obi-Wan was so concerned. Leia had no Jedi training and was now alone. She had no one to guide her down the right path. _Anakin was guided down the right path, but he still chose evil. What chance does Leia have?_

The former Jedi tried to banish those thoughts from his mind, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. He knew that if Leia fell to the dark side, there was a good chance that the Sith would reign supreme for a very long time. She was the galaxy's only hope now. It was hard for him to not be pessimistic about the outcome; he knew Darth Sidious' power.

If Leia was to have any hope of facing what was coming, they would somehow have to get in contact with her. He had tried to appear to her like he had Luke, but her complete lack of training in the ways of the Force prevented it. Because of the biological connection, the only one who would have any hope of reaching her now would be her father.

_Anakin_--It was still hard to believe that his former padawan was here among them, among the light. His return to the light was a surprise to him, but he felt that it was not a surprise to Qui-Gon. During his exile on Tatooine, Obi-Wan spoke to the transcended form of his old master many times and in those conversations learned that Qui-Gon never gave up on Anakin. _I gave up on him though._

Ever since Anakin's death, the transcended Obi-Wan had only seen him a few times. In the Force, one fades in and out of awareness. One second he would be with Qui-Gon or Yoda, and the next he would be alone. His transcended form was very hard to control.

Obi-Wan's view changed and he was suddenly in what looked to be the Jedi Council chambers. Being in the Force sometimes was like a dream. The things he perceived would change quickly. One moment he would be inside what appeared to be his hovel on Tatooine and the next he would be on Coruscant. The things he saw would not look exactly how he remembered it; everything always took on a surreal quality to it.

The former Jedi looked around the large room and found Anakin staring out the window. "Hello."

Anakin turned around quickly, "Obi-Wan." His eyes held a hint of confusion. "Why am I here?"

Slowly, he walked up to stand beside his former apprentice. The view from the window was different than the one he remembered from his life. It looked like Coruscant, but the skyline was much different. He saw large forbidding buildings that he knew did not exist when he was living on the capital planet.

Anakin sensed his confusion, "It's the Imperial Palace complex."

"Oh."

"Sidious began building it nearly a year after he became Emperor; although I think he had the plans drawn up several years before."

"I imagine he did." Their conversation was becoming uncomfortable and Obi-Wan felt that it was even more so for Anakin. After so much had happened, it was hard to know what to say."

"Qui-Gon said that sometimes transcended beings can project themselves into the physical world and appear like ghosts." Anakin waved his hand, indicating the entire room and what appeared through the window. "It looks so much like it does in real life, are we now projecting ourselves into the living world?"

"It's possible, but that would assume the Jedi temple exists now. I figured the Emperor destroyed the temple."

Anakin shook his head, "No, he kept it as sort of a shrine. The whole place was hermetically sealed and nothing was touched."

"A shrine to his greatest victory, no doubt" Obi-Wan could not keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"Yes." Anakin again looked around the room, "I don't think we're actually there now. The room is too clean."

"Clean? You said nothing was touched."

"There would be bodies," Anakin stated simply with a far off expression. "Afterward...they were identified, but not left where they were."

Obi-Wan winced as he remembered the aftermath of the temple purge. He painfully remembered seeing the corpses of those killed by the clones and Anakin's unrelenting blade. He remembered going up to the Council chambers all those years ago and finding the scattered bodies of several younglings, just like the others he had found all over the temple. _And there they still lay, as trophies for a Sith lord._ "We didn't have time for burial," he whispered.

Anakin nodded, "I know." He then sat down on the floor; Obi-Wan noted that he did not sit in any of the Council member's chairs. "Why am I here? Why do I still live within the Force? I expected oblivion."

"I don't know all the answers." Obi-Wan knelt down beside his former student, "We just have to make use of the time we have; we have your daughter to save."

"Leia," Anakin shook his head regretfully. "Sidious is going to go after her, and she won't stand a chance."

"Then we must help her. Qui-Gon believes that you are the key to reaching her."

Anakin stood up quickly and began pacing; his fear and frustration was evident. "You don't know what I did to her!"

"You interrogated her." Since his death, Obi-Wan had become aware of some events previously outside his knowledge. He knew many of Anakin's greatest sins.

Anakin clenched his fists as waves of emotion hit him, "That word is not sufficient to describe what I did to her. Obi-Wan, I tortured her for hours; I injected her with drugs that cause indescribable pain and then I used the Force in the most brutal way to extract information from her." He stopped pacing and looked directly at his former master, "When she didn't break after all of that, I stood by and let her planet be destroyed right before her very eyes. I did that to my own child!"

Obi-Wan stood up to meet his former apprentice's gaze. "Anakin, there's nothing I can say that will make what you did go away. Yes, you did terrible things, but that doesn't mean that Leia still does not need your help."

Tears began to fall; Anakin wiped them away and looked down at them on his hand. He seemed almost amazed by the sight; it had been a very long time since Anakin Skywalker shed any tears. "She was in the public eye her entire life, and I saw her many times as she grew up. I knew she had a strong Force presence; so much so that I even..." He trailed off, looking away from Obi-Wan.

"What did you do, Anakin?" While he was aware of some of his deeds as Darth Vader, Obi-Wan did not know everything.

"I knew she had great power--power that could be shaped and molded. I knew that I couldn't kill Sidious on my own, so I considered her as a possible apprentice when she came of age." He turned back to his former master. "I can't believe I didn't see it, Obi-Wan. I looked her in the eyes many times and I did not see what is so obvious now. I should have seen Padmé in her!"

Obi-Wan was not sure what to make of Anakin's confession. If he had done as he planned, things would have been much different. "Now you know. What are you going to do?"

"I lost one child to Sidious and I won't lose another. What he has planned for her is much worse than death, and I can't let that happen. I don't know where to begin, though."

Suddenly, the voice of Qui-Gon could be heard as he appeared next to them, "You must try to contact her; Obi-Wan and I will show you how."

* * *

"Lando's never touching my ship again!" Ever since Calrissian docked in one of the landing bays of _Home One_, Han had been finding too many things wrong with the _Millennium Falcon_. "He promised me that she wouldn't get a scratch, and he brings her back completely wrecked." 

Chewbacca growled in annoyance as he came up to his friend, _"Stop complaining, your ship is not wrecked!"_

Han pointed to large scorch mark on the underside of the ship, "What is that then?"

_"Well, you were the one who let Lando have your ship; be thankful she's still in one piece."_

"Very funny."

_"Why are you here, anyway? I told you that I would get the repairs done. Anyway, don't you have other things to do, seeing as how you're a general now."_ Chewbacca had been very much amused by his partner's reluctant transformation from smuggler to military leader.

"There's nothing much for a general to do until we reach the rendezvous point." Han replied as he climbed up into the ship.

The wookie followed him into the cockpit. _"How is Leia coping with Luke's death?"_

Han sighed as he sat down in the pilot seat. "She's handling it the same way she does everything else, working 'till she drops." He knew the pattern; she did the same thing after Alderaan's destruction. "I'm worried about her."

_"She's strong, she'll survive."_

"Maybe, but I'm not sure the rest of us will. Things are bad, Chewie, I don't know if the Rebellion is going to survive what happened at Endor."

_"What are you going to do, then?"_

"I'll stay by her side, no matter what."

_"I knew that, kid. I just wanted you to say it, for your own good."_

Despite the seriousness of their situation, Han could not help but laugh with his friend, "If things get too bad, we could kidnap her and take her away from all this."

Chewbacca shook his head and laughed, _"She'd kill you if you tried and you know it."_

* * *

Leia could not put off sleep any longer. She feared the nightmares that she had been having, but she had no choice but to face them again. It did not take long for her to fall into a deep sleep, and predictably her horrific dreams returned. 

They were always different but they all shared one theme, Luke. This time, she was watching her brother getting tortured like she had been on the Death Star. He called out to her but she could not get to him no matter what she did. She had no choice but to listen to Luke's painful screaming.

Leia then saw the Emperor; this was a first. Usually, her nightmares featured Darth Vader alone as the perpetrator of Luke's many tortures. Palpatine was not doing anything but watching. He then turned toward her, "Greetings, apprentice."

The princess did not know what was going on, "What do you mean?"

"You will call me master, as your father did."

_What does he mean by "apprentice", or by "master"?_ The sounds of Luke's screaming faded into the background and she was left alone with the Emperor. "I am nothing like him." Leia might not have understood everything he said, but she resented being compared to Darth Vader. Palpatine laughed as he began to fade away, "We will see, young Skywalker."

Leia awoke from her dream in a cold sweat. She felt silly turning on the light, like she used to when she would have nightmares growing up. This time, the light did not help. She was still just as frightened. What the Emperor said continued to replay in her mind over and over again.

Suddenly, she heard what sounded like a voice. It sounded both close by and far away at the same time. She had never heard the voice before, but she felt like she should know it. "Leia! Leia!"

Forgoing all of her pride, the princess quickly got up from her bed and ran to the bay where the _Millennium Falcon_ was docked and where Han was sleeping. She did not want to be alone tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3:**_

Darth Sidious had never felt the Force more strongly. All of his rivals were dead, and the Sith master shared his power with no one. His destiny was never clearer. It was all so easy, the Rebellion was all but destroyed and his next apprentice was even now being prepared to serve him.

It had taken some doing, but finally he achieved a link with Leia Organa without her knowledge. He could hear her anger; it sang to him from the other end of the galaxy. She was very much like her father, more so than Luke ever was. The overwhelming emotion she was experiencing was much like his former apprentice's anger after his mother's death.

The Sith closed his eyes as her despair washed over him; he savored it like one would a fine wine. He was looking forward to taking Leia's hand and showing her true power and there would be no Jedi to stand in his way.

All of those who followed the path of the Jedi were gone--Yoda, Kenobi, Luke, and even Vader were all dead. Even though his former apprentice gave himself to Sidious' teachings, it was impossible for him to be completely rid of Jedi philosophy. It was always there, waiting for the right time. Then, when the moment was at its most critical, Vader embraced the light and ruined his master's plans.

_Leia has no Jedi philosophy to taint her. I will be able to mold her from the very beginning of her knowledge of the Force._ Finally, the unlimited power that he had sought since a very early age was in his grasp.

There were things he needed to do, plans he needed to implement. Destroying the remains of the rebellion would be so easy. Their numbers were few now, thanks to their foolish attack on the second Death Star and those that were still alive had many doubts about their leaders.

He imagined that there was much division within the ranks of the rebel leadership. During his many years in politics, Sidious had seen what happens when an operation of such magnitude goes wrong. It would not take much to destroy what was left of the rebellion, but that would come later. First, he had an apprentice to collect.

* * *

Leia awoke to feel Han's arm around her. Even in his sleep, he was giving her comfort. Ever since she had been sleeping in Han's bed on the _Falcon_, she had been able to get better rest. His presence seemed to keep at least some of the nightmares at bay. 

She felt silly that she needed him so much, but to her relief, Han had not made a big deal of the fact that she was sharing his bed. Of course, Leia knew that he probably wanted to do more than just sleep, but so far he had not asked for anything more. She needed comfort and he was being exactly that.

While the nightmares were not as numerous as before, her dream-life was still very active. She dreamed many times of Luke and the Emperor. The ruler of the galaxy did very little in her dreams; he sometimes did not even speak. He was an omnipresent force that only watched her most of the time. When he did speak, it was always to promise that she would one day serve him as Vader did. Leia was not sure which was more horrific, hearing that declaration from the Emperor, or dreaming of Luke being tortured.

She felt Han's arm tighten around her. "'Morning"

"Good morning." The first time that she had awoken next to him was very awkward. She did not know how to explain why she needed to be with him. However, over the course of the previous days, the early awkwardness had faded.

Han kissed her cheek and then wearily got up from the bed. "So, what's on your exciting agenda today?"

"An Alliance leadership meeting," Leia turned over to look at the chrono, "in about an hour."

He nodded, and then frowned. "You look like you're dreading it."

Leia shrugged, "I guess discussing the death of all of our hopes and dreams is never pleasant."

Han sat down on the bed next to where the princess was still lying, "How many times do I have to say this? It's not the end of the Alliance."

"That trap that we walked right into destroyed over half of our entire fleet." Leia sat up from the bed, "We thought that operation was a sure thing, and we put nearly all of our resources toward it. We underestimated the Emperor."

"If you recall, we destroyed many of his ships in that attack."

Leia threw her hands up in frustration, "What we destroyed was a fraction of the whole Imperial fleet, and new ships are being built as we speak. I've read reports that the Kuati shipyards are producing double the output than before." She got up from the bed and walked to the other end of the room.

Han crossed the room to her, "So, that's what you're going to do? You're going to surrender and let the Emperor destroy everything you ever cared about without a fight."

The princess looked up at him sharply, "I'm not surrendering; I'm just trying to be realistic!"

Han took her hand, "I know you've lost so much for the sake of the rebellion. If you decide that it's too much, just say the word and I'll take you away from here."

Leia wrenched her hand from his grasp, "I'm not abandoning the Alliance!"

He smiled knowingly, "I didn't think you would, Sweetheart. I just wanted to give you the option."

The princess sat down on the bed and Han followed, "I want you there at the meeting today."

"Me?"

"Of course, you are a general."

Han sighed, "Don't remind me."

"We need you Han; you are one of our best."

"Rebellion must be desperate if I'm considered one of its best and brightest." Han scoffed.

"Please, this is nothing to joke about."

"I know."

For the next few moments, neither of them spoke. Han could tell that Leia wanted to say something but was having a hard time getting it out. Finally, she got the courage to ask the question that had been plaguing her since Endor. "Are you going to leave?"

Han turned to her; his expression was a combination of confusion and outrage. "Do you actually think that I would?"

"You've left before."

"Yeah, for about ten seconds before the battle of Yavin; but I turned back." Han then smiled, hoping to diffuse the sudden tension between them. "And yes, there was that time when I was a block of carbonite in Jabba's throne room, but you really can't hold that against me."

Leia shook her head, "Those were different times…simpler times."

"Didn't seem that way when we were going through it--especially the business with Jabba."

"Luke was with us then. It seemed like anything was possible with him around." Leia brushed a tear from her cheek. "You know, it's strange. Up until a few weeks ago, I had no idea that I had a brother, but now I'm not sure how to go on without one."

Han put his arm around her. "I don't know if it means anything, but you have me."

Leia rested her head against him, "I don't know how to explain it, but every fiber in my being is telling me that the rebellion is a lost cause."

"Please Leia, don't do this."

She spoke in a small voice, "If you want to leave, I won't think badly of you."

Han sighed, "You know I would never do that."

"Staying will probably mean your death."

"Sweetheart, I'm not an easy man to kill."

Leia broke from his embrace, "Can you please be serious?"

"You're the one not being serious; you actually expect me to abandon you?" Han took her hands in his, "Listen to me, I will be with you always. If you stay, I stay; if you go, I'll go. That's a promise."

* * *

"Leia, I'm glad you're here." Mon Mothma was smiling warmly as they entered the room where the meeting was to be held. Han immediately distrusted the smile, it seemed too forced. Admiral Ackbar and General Madine had already arrived and both looked very uncomfortable. 

Mothma glanced over at Han, "I see you brought General Solo, I was not aware of this."

Leia gave the former senator a cold smile, "Last minute addition, I asked him to come."

"I thought this was only to be between top-level Alliance leadership. General Solo's rank was given to him because..."

"If you haven't noticed," Leia interrupted, "there is not that many in leadership left."

Mothma sighed and turned to address Han, "Very well, do I need to remind you that what you hear is to be kept in the strictest of confidence?"

"There's no need to remind me." Han did not hide his annoyance.

General Madine began the meeting. "I guess we all know why this meeting was called. We need to discus how we're going to proceed."

Admiral Ackbar spoke up, "We first need to regroup before we even think about future plans. We need to get our numbers back to the levels they were before."

Mon agreed quickly, "Yes, we need to rebuild."

Han kept his eyes on Leia the entire time. She, unlike the others, had not sat down. She was giving the appearance of strength and resolve. However, Han knew that most of it was an act. Luke's death had shaken Leia to her core; and she was not nearly as confident as she once was.

Leia spoke, "It took us over twenty years to get to where we were before Endor, resources and troop level wise. Now, with much of our fleet decimated, it's going to take us years before we can get back to our previous strength. While we wait, the Empire is going to grow even stronger."

Mon Mothma stood up to face Leia, "To be able to challenge the Emperor, we have to have a large fighting force--even larger than before."

Madine shook his head, "I'm not sure if that's even possible. It's not only the losses at Endor that we need to consider; many were killed in the massacres that followed. Those killed were those who we could have recruited."

The simultaneous attacks throughout the galaxy that announced the Emperor's survival had killed millions. Afterward, the governments of those planets raced to be the first to denounce the Alliance. Holo-Net news was filled with reports of various planetary officials from hundreds of worlds being turned in for supporting the rebels.

Before Endor, there was a time when there was hope for a future without the Emperor; a ray of light could be seen in the bitter darkness. That hope made otherwise weak governments defiant against the face of Imperial might. Among the allied planets, there was unity and a sense of purpose. Those days were long gone now; pragmatism, once again, ruled the day.

"What are you suggesting?" asked Leia.

"I don't know--I'm not sure if any of us know the right thing to do," Madine admitted. "There are very few options left."

Ackbar spoke up, "You are right, General. As distasteful as some of them are, we need to discuss those options."

"Our choices are either disbanding the Alliance and quit, or go out in a blaze of glory." Mothma, who had been fighting Palpatine since before he became Emperor, appeared lost. "I don't see any thing else we can do."

Han could not stay silent any longer. "So, you can't see any middle ground between giving in completely and suicide?"

Mothma glared at him, "Then, what do you suggest?"

Han threw up his hands, "I don't know, I'm not the military expert here; but even I can see that there has to be another option."

"We could pull back from engaging the Empire directly; but we could increase our covert operations." There was a faint glimmer of hope in Madine's voice as he considered the possibilities.

Ackbar disagreed, "Covert operations alone do not win wars."

"That is true, but until we regain our former strength we can weaken the Empire from the inside."

"How, by planting bombs?" The former senator from Chandrila stood up in frustration. "We would be seen as nothing more than terrorists."

Madine shook his head, "I'm not saying that we target civilians; but a few operations in some key facilities would go a long way. Besides, no matter what we do, we'll be painted as terrorists; we already are."

"We don't have a choice, Mon." Leia was reaching her limit; she did not want to hear any more of this but had little choice.

Mothma turned to Leia, "This would require better sources than we have now. We all know the consequences of bad intelligence."

Leia glared at the former senator. "You don't have to remind me," she reminded her coldly.

"That's good; let's hope that you don't make the same mistakes that led us to this point."

"You'd better not be implying what I think you're implying!" Han interjected, not caring at the moment that he was yelling at a superior. He was not going to just sit there and let this go on.

Ackbar, wanting to calm the rapidly escalating tensions, tried to reason with all involved. "Please, we're not blaming anyone for this."

Madine agreed, "We need to discus this rationally."

Leia ignored the calls for calm, "Senator Mothma, if I recall correctly, you approved of the Endor operation."

Han had seen her angry before, but not like this. He was seeing something new; there was something in her eyes that he had never seen from her before. He saw flashes of hate and malice; and he could not help but be disturbed.

Mon refused to back down, "You were the one who said that the Bothan intelligence was correct. You so badly wanted to go after the second Death Star that you didn't even think that it might be wrong. You then got us all to go along with you!"

"This is unbelievable; you saw the same information!"

Han went to Leia's side and took her arm. The situation was escalating so fast that he feared that, in the mood she was in, she might go so far as to attack. "You know you're wrong, Mothma."

Madine stood between the two women, "I suggest we adjourn for the day, before things get out of hand."

With a glare in Leia's general direction, Mothma left the room; she was followed by a nervous Madine and Ackbar. Only Leia and Han remained in the command center. When the princess did not immediately acknowledge him, Han decided he had to fill the uncomfortable silence. "It wasn't your fault; I don't care what she, or anyone else, says."

Leia began pacing the room, "Of all people, I never thought she would do this to me."

"People do crazy things when they are afraid." Han could tell that she was nowhere near calm. He did not like seeing her this way; there was something in her demeanor that frightened him somewhat. "She's the only who feels that way."

She turned to him, "Is she?"

"Yeah, she is."

Mark my words; she's not going to be the last." Leia then took a deep breath, and seemed to calm down somewhat. "The Emperor doesn't need to destroy us; we're doing a fine job of it on our own."

Han never thought that he would ever be in the position of being the voice of reason between the two of them. Usually, it was Leia that was trying to get him to think rationally. "Things are going to be tense for a while, but eventually she'll see that she was wrong."

"Maybe she wasn't."

"Oh no, don't you start that again. I'm not going to stand here and listen to you berate yourself."

Leia wiped a tear from her eye, "Mon Mothma did present the plan to the Alliance; but I was the one who presented the original intelligence to the leadership. I told them that it was solid; it is my fault that..."

Not wanting to hear anymore of this, Han stopped her the only way he knew how at the moment; he kissed her. To his surprise, Leia did not back away from him. When it was over, he looked deep into her eyes and gave her his most charming smile, "I told you; I'm not going to listen to this."

She returned his smile momentarily before it vanished. "I'm so tired."

"I know Sweetheart, this will be over soon."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

* * *

"I believe that Sidious has formed a link with Leia." Anakin had been working on contacting his daughter, but so far he had been unsuccessful. There had been moments when he almost reached her, but something had been always blocked him. He realized that another outside influence was the only thing to explain it. 

"Do you think he suspects what you are doing?" Qui-Gon asked, concerned by this new development.

Anakin shook his head, "I don't know; it's possible."

"We must assume that he does. Have you had any progress?"

"Some, when she is asleep it is easier; but that is when he's most likely to go after her. There were a couple of times that I think I got to her; but it only frightened her."

Qui-Gon nodded, "If she is easier to contact while she is sleeping; then maybe in her dreams is the only way you'll be able to speak with her."

"I have no idea how to even begin to do that."

"We will do this together."

Anakin frowned, "When Sidious knows for certain what I'm doing, he'll step up his efforts to get to Leia."

"Then we must get to her before then." Qui-Gon smiled, "Stop focusing on the negative."

"All right, I'm ready."

"Good, now focus on your task; block out all distractions."

Anakin complied, and reached out to his daughter. She was difficult to find in the ocean of the Force, but eventually he found her. Leia was sleeping and the shields that she had no idea she had put up were down at the moment. "I see her."

"You must reach out even more to speak with her."

Anakin extended his mind even further. He focused on nothing but his desire to save Leia from the fate that had once been his. He felt a connection forming; but as soon as it was there, it was broken. "I lost her; she was right there but I lost her."

As Qui-Gon was about to encourage the former Sith to attempt contact again, both of them felt a strange disturbance around them. Before either had a chance to comment on the new development, a woman's voice drew their attention. "Who are you?"

Both former Jedi stood in amazement at the sight. Before them, in the netherworld of the Force, was the one that they had been seeking. Anakin spoke first, "Leia, is that you?"


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4:**_

Leia did not know what to think of her surroundings. Wherever she was, it looked and felt almost surreal; but it did not feel like a dream. Looking around, she did not recognize the room she was in, but it was hard to see much of anything beyond the others in the room with her.

She did now know who they were either, but they seemed to know her. "Am I dreaming?"

One of her companions, an older, long-haired man, came closer and regarded her with a look of wonder on his face. "You must be; this is extraordinary."

Leia frowned and looked around the room. Her surroundings were becoming clearer. She appeared to be in a room overlooking Coruscant. She could see the ever-present Imperial palace. "This doesn't feel like a dream."

The old man smiled and glanced over to his companion. "You must have reached her."

The other one was younger and very sullen looking. For reasons Leia could not completely grasp, something about the younger man's presence seemed familiar somehow.

He shook his head and spoke, but his eyes remained steadily focused on Leia. "I didn't, I could never get through."

Leia could not place where she had met this man before; but she knew she had. The puzzle of his identity was gnawing at her. "Who are you?"

The older man bowed formally, "I am Qui-Gon Jinn, this is..."

"Just a friend," the other one interrupted with much urgency, "someone who wants to help you."

The princess frowned, "What do you mean that you 'reached' me?"

Qui-Gon briefly glanced at his companion with an odd expression on his face before returning his attention to Leia. "We have been trying to get in contact with you since Luke was killed."

"You knew Luke?"

He smiled, "We were once Jedi, like your brother."

"Once?"

Qui-Gon's mysterious companion spoke up, "We've passed to the Force."

Leia could not believe what she was hearing, "You're dead? How am I speaking to you then?"

"I am not completely certain, I do not think that you've transcended, but maybe some kind of link has been forged." The older man stopped and smiled again, "I must admit, I am perplexed."

"Why were you trying to get in contact with me?"

"To help you, you are in grave danger."

Leia noted the vast differences in the two men before her. The one who identified himself as Qui-Gon Jinn seemed to be wrapped in peace and tranquility. She felt comfortable in his presence. On the other hand, his companion was something else entirely. He appeared to be nervous and restless. She still could not shake the feeling that she knew him. Every second with him in this strange place confirmed that fact.

"I always am; why is that the business of two dead Jedi?"

The younger man shook his head in frustration, and for the first time, approached the princess. Before, he seemed to want to keep as much distance as he could from her. As she saw him up close, Leia saw that while his face appeared young, his eyes appeared to be that of a much older man.

"Please, listen to us. You need to learn about the Force; that is the only way that you are going to have any hope of surviving what is to come."

Luke's words to her before he left on his mission to the Death Star came rushing back to her. He told her that she could learn to use the Force and that she was the only hope for the Alliance. She did not believe it then; and she especially did not want to believe it now that she knew the identity of her biological father.

"The Emperor is no mere man; he has power beyond anything that you have ever imagined."

Leia scoffed, "I can imagine a great deal from him."

"I know that most beings in the galaxy, including the rebellion, believe that the Emperor is half senile and the galaxy is run by the Moffs and the military commanders." The younger man shook his head sadly. "Believe me when I say, that is a lie. The rebellion underestimates him...even now."

"How do you know this?" The princess had the distinct feeling that she did not want to know the answer to her question.

He looked away, "I know, trust me on this."

"Why should I trust you; you won't even give me your name."

"What does it matter?" He threw up his hands in frustration.

"Why do I have the feeling that I've met you before?"

He reached as if he were going to take her hands in his, but hesitated. "Please Leia, we don't have time for this; I'm trying to save you from a fate far worse than death."

"You will tell me who you are!" She was tired of all the riddles.

Qui-Gon spoke up and addressed his companion, "You have no choice, my friend."

"I can't tell her!"

"She's close to discovering it."

Suddenly, the knowledge that had before eluded her came to her suddenly. It was perfectly clear who this man was; the man with the determined expression and the haunted eyes. Leia did not know how she had figured it out; but she wished she had not.

"No, no! This can't be happening. This is a dream...only a dream."

"Leia..."

He reached out for her and momentarily touched her hand. She reacted as if she was burned. "Don't you dare touch me!"

"I am not going to hurt you."

"You already have; get away from me!"

"Please, I am your father."

* * *

Leia nearly cried in relief when she awoke to find herself in Han's bed on the _Falcon_. Of all the nightmares that she had endured since Luke's death, this one was the worst. Feeling an arm tighten around her, the princess tried to take comfort in Han's presence, but she could not be consoled.

Leia felt as if she were being drowned--drowned by grief, drowned by responsibility, and drowned by the omnipresent feeling that things were going to get much worse but there was nothing she could do about it.

She told herself that what she had just experienced was only a dream--only a product of her uneasy mind. However, something very deep inside her was screaming that it could not, and should not, be dismissed so easily.

Knowing that sleep would not come again that night, the princess carefully extracted herself from Han's arms. Before she stood, Leia felt something grasp her hand.

"Where are you going?"

Sighing, the princess turned to see her lover wide awake, watching her with a concerned expression. "I can't sleep."

"Another nightmare?"

Leia shook her head, "I suppose."

"Suppose?"

"I don't want to talk about it." In truth, the princess did not want to fathom the possibility that what she experienced was somehow more than a simple dream.

"You're going to have to stop running away from this; for your own sake. Whatever it is, I can help you."

After his heartfelt promise, Leia was nearly overcome with emotion. Han pulled her down and drew her into his arms once again. Hearing his whispered words of love and comfort, the princess allowed herself to cry.

* * *

It had been a long time since the Emperor had been involved in detailed military planning. During his reign, he had left such things to Darth Vader and the military commanders. He gave his apprentice a broad outline of what needed to be done and left him to hammer out the details.

It was a system that worked for over twenty years, but things had changed drastically. For the first time, Darth Sidious was to be intimately involved in war strategy. What he was planning against the rebellion was much too important to allow lower men to plan.

He felt a presence approach and pressed the button to open the massive doors of his throne room. On the other side of the door was Jestrin E'besk, the newly appointed Moff of the Kuat Sector.

From all reports, this man was gleefully following in his family's tradition of sycophancy and naked ambition. His mind was laughingly easy to penetrate with the Force; Sidious could feel the young man's fear and awe. This one would be easy to control.

"Your Excellency, I am honored that you would be so gracious to invite me to your magnificent presence. I am your humble servant."

The Emperor knew a well-practiced lie when he heard one; it amused him that the man would think that he was somehow being manipulative. Many in the Imperial court believed the Emperor to be almost senile; but the wise among them knew that nothing was further from the truth. Jestrin E'besk was not wise.

From his throne's high perch, the Emperor looked down at the kneeling man and sneered. "Your loyalty is yet to be proven, governor."

"How may I do that, Your Excellency? I am yours to command."

"It is good that you already understand your place." Sidious motioned for the man to rise, "We have much to discuss. Tell me about the Kuati shipyards' security measures."

"The entire system is well guarded; what is left of the rebels will not be able to mount any serious offence."

Sidious raised an eyebrow, "You are certain of this?"

The man stumbled over his words, trying to discern what the right answer to the question was. "Yes, Your Excellency."

The Emperor smiled, "Very good, then you will not object to the military presence in the system being pulled back."

E'besk's eyes immediately filled with shock. "I..I don't understand. We would become an immediate target."

"I thought the Rebellion was not able to mount a serious offense?"

In an attempt to calm his rapidly increasing panic, the governor closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Yes, I did say that; however, we must remain ever vigilant."

"And we will, that is why I have decided to re-allocate the troop resources to more advanced shipyards that are being built as we speak."

Sidious did not hide his grin when he felt the governor's surge of fear and outrage. His family had become members of the hyper-wealthy class solely because of those shipyards. If his world lost the Imperial contract, the credits that financed their lavish lifestyle would dry up almost immediately.

"I do not understand. The Kuati yards have supplied the Empire since the beginning; we even supplied the old Republic." There was desperation in the governor's voice, "have you somehow been displeased by our work?"

"No, but it is believed by many in my government that the facilities surrounding your world are outdated."

"We can upgrade!"

The Emperor's eyes narrowed, "Do not forget who you are speaking to."

E'besk bowed, "I apologize. I just do not understand why this decision has been made."

"It was not something decided easily; but after much discussion, Luskan was determined to be the best planet to build the new facilities."

As expected, the reaction from E'besk was immediate, "That world was decimated years ago!"

Luskan was one of the Republic's many casualties during the Clone War. The population was almost completely wiped out in a bombing campaign led by General Grievous, but orchestrated by Lord Sidious himself. Its destruction allowed him to gain even more emergency powers.

"Yes, the fact that there is no population to support makes it ideal for military purposes."

Knowing that there was nothing he could do now, he bowed again, "I accept your greater wisdom, Your Excellency. May I ask how long it will be before the contract is terminated?"

"The base is nearing completion; three months at the most."

He nodded, trying to appear to be resigned to his world's sudden change in status. However, the Dark Lord could see right through him; he knew the cauldron that was boiling just under the surface.

The Emperor then gave his most grandfatherly expression, "I know this is a shock; and I appreciate your world's service; but Kuat will need to now serve me in other ways."

"We are ever your servants." E'besk said dispassionately.

"Yes, you are; do not forget that."

Pressing a button next to him, Sidious opened the massive doors indicating that this conversation was finished.

The governor appeared lost and confused as he exited the throne room; he nearly stumbled on the way. After he was gone, the Sith mused over his plans and how they would all fit into place. The greedy politician that just left his presence would see to it.

The Rebellion would be destroyed; and Vader's other child would be in his service very soon. He had foreseen it.

* * *

Leia was sick of going to meetings. The Alliance leadership seemed to schedule them every day, but nothing was ever decided. It seemed all they did was blame each other for their sudden change in fortunes. The princess had dealt with it all by remaining stubbornly silent until the meeting was dismissed. She did not have the energy to argue with them.

She did not feel comfortable anywhere on _Home One_. The ship was a constant reminder that the cause that she had given her life to was running instead of fighting. Leia wondered if they would ever stop. No planet would take them; even worlds that supported the Alliance since nearly the beginning were not willing to take the risk.

They were galactic orphans doomed to wander the galaxy; at least until they decided to face the reality that the Rebel Alliance was dead.

The only place on the massive ship that the princess felt the least bit comfortable was in a small smuggler's transport that was docked in the hanger bay. On the _Millennium Falcon_ Leia did not have to be a source of leadership and inspiration for terrified troops; here she could be herself.

"You know, you might as well go ahead and move your things into the _Falcon_, it might make things easier."

Of course, being able to be herself came at a price; she could never get away from the ship's sometimes overbearing owner. While he still sometimes got on her nerves, Han's presence was the only thing that seemed to keep her together.

Leia tried not to smile as he sat down next to her in the cockpit, but she lost the battle. "You'd like that, wouldn't you."

"I can't say that I'd object."

"You're such a scoundrel."

Han laughed, "Didn't we have this conversation already? I thought we determined that you like scoundrels."

Leia grinned wickedly, "Not all scoundrels; if that were the case, I would be sleeping in Lando's bed."

Han's smile instantly disappeared, "Don't even joke about something like that!"

"Why not? The man does know how to dress to impress."

"All right, that's enough of that. Don't talk about Lando on my ship."

Leia laughed, she felt good to be lighthearted again, even if it was only for a moment. The couple sat together in silence as Han worked beside her.

As she stared out the window of the cockpit, the princess could see crewmembers working in the landing bay. It struck her how young many members of the Alliance were. The ones she was viewing at that moment appeared to be no older than sixteen or seventeen.

The aching in Leia's heart returned as she pondered what their future held. They had no business being in a war, they should have been home with their families; but most of them had nowhere to go. So many had died; and before it is all over, many more would be lost. Leia wondered if all the death and destruction was worth it to fight a losing battle.

Sensing her immediate change in mood, Han looked over at the princess. "Are you all right?"

"Fine." She was tired of getting asked that question. In truth, she was far from fine.

"I don't believe you; you have the look."

"The look?"

"The same look you always have when something is bothering you...lips closed tightly and eyebrows knitted together. I know you well, Your Worshipfulness."

Leia sighed in annoyance, "It's nothing."

"For a former politician, you are a really bad liar. I know you didn't come up to the cockpit to enjoy the view. Are you going to make me beg you to tell me what this is about?" Han reached over and took her hand, "Is it the dreams?"

The princess was disturbed that Han knew this much about her. She wondered if she was really that transparent. "It's everything—the Empire, the Alliance…and the dreams."

"Are they about Luke?"

"Luke, the Emperor, Vader. I think I'm going insane." She wished that it was that simple. She wanted nothing more for the encounter she had the night before to be only a product of insanity. In a way, it would be almost comforting; much more comforting than the thought of Vader haunting her from beyond the grave.

"You're grieving."

The princess shook her head, "It's more than that. Han, these dreams...I've never had anything like them."

"You've been through a lot."

Leia wished that she could explain what she had experienced, but she could not form the words. She wanted to share her burden, but she knew that Han would not be able to understand.

The pair became silent again; each lost in their own thoughts. Knowing that she needed some space, Han backed off and began working on the ship again.

After a few moments, Leia asked the question that had been on her mind for weeks. "Does it bother you that Darth Vader was my biological father?"

For seemingly the first time in his life, Han Solo chose his words carefully. "To be honest, I'm not sure if I believe it."

"It's true." Leia wished with all of her heart that it was not; but wishing would not change anything.

"If it is, that doesn't change the way I feel about you. If that is what you're asking."

"He was once a Jedi, but he betrayed them. What if betrayal is genetic?"

With intensity that she had never seen from him before, Han took her by the shoulders, "Don't you dare even think such a thing! I don't care who your father is, I know who you are; and I know that you are nothing like Vader."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

"Leia, good you've finally arrived."

The princess had been called to an emergency meeting in the middle of the night. Even though he was annoyed at the interruption, Han had gone with her. His opinion of the Alliance leadership had dropped significantly since Mon Mothma had begun blaming Leia for their failure at Endor; he was not about to let his princess face them alone.

Han met Mon Mothma's glare with his most sarcastic smile. The former senator from Chandrila had made it abundantly clear that she did not approve of him being involved in high-level planning, but Leia had stubbornly refused to bow to her colleague's wishes.

"What is this about? You said it was urgent."

General Madine nodded and switched on the holo viewer. "We have just received word that the Empire is in the process of moving their main shipyards."

Han sat down but Leia, like always, slowly paced the room. "Moving from Kuat? That's unprecedented."

Mon answered, "Yes, it seems that these new shipyards will be much more advanced, when they are complete."

Leia frowned, "How close are they to completion?"

"According to the information we've received, about three months."

Han suddenly felt like he was trapped in a feedback loop. What they were discussing sounded eerily similar to the Endor operation.

Leia, it seemed, felt just as uneasy. "Where did you get this information?"

Admiral Ackbar answered, "The Bothan spy network."

The princess shook her head in frustration and disgust, "I can't believe what I'm hearing!" She turned her cold gaze to Mothma, "Tell me, how many Bothans died to bring us this little tidbit? Am I the only one who thinks this is just a little too much like last time?"

"No," Han spoke up as he stood, "you're not the only one."

Mothma glared at him before returning her attention to Leia, "I understand your misgivings, but we shouldn't discount this. It may be our only way to strike a blow to the Empire."

"If we go after it, we'll be walking into a trap."

"That may be so," Madine acknowledged, "but this is the best intelligence we've had in a long while. If it isn't a trap, we would have missed a great opportunity to beat back the Imperial machine."

Leia closed her eyes as she attempted to calm herself. "The Emperor let us have this information, he's not really going to move ship operations. He'll be expecting us to attack the new facility. Because of that, troops will be moved to meet us there." The princess then smiled as an idea came to her, "What if we hit Kuat instead? He won't be expecting it."

It took all of Han's self control to not tell Leia that she was completely insane for even suggesting such a thing; but the more he thought about it, the more he understood the logic behind it; but the idea was still crazy.

Mon Mothma was less reserved in her objection, "And if you're wrong?"

"Then we're damned," the princess answered with little emotion. "If your plan fails, we're also damned."

Ackbar, who had largely remained silent during the entire meeting spoke up, "We must vote on this now."

To Han's no real surprise, the vote went in favor of Leia's plan. For the next several hours, a bold, and possibly suicidal, attack was planned. Despite his strong self-preservation instincts, the Corellian heard himself volunteer the _Falcon _as one of the lead ships.

He had no choice really, Leia insisted on leading the mission from the field and Han would not leave her side for anything.

There was much that needed to be done before the assault; plans had to be finalized, troops had to be assigned, and Han Solo had one very personal mission of his own.

_**To Be Continued...**_


End file.
